This poll spawned from one of my recent seeds when two or more people began to get into a debate over civil unions vs. marriages.

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A Civil Union is defined as "A legally recognized union of a same-sex couple, with rights similar to those of marriage"

Marriage is defined as "The formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife."

But are they really the same (or at least similar)?

On paper, yes they are- at first. Supposedly the two forms of union between two people receive similar benefits and legal protections. But if you look closer, the government offers far less protections for civil unions than it does marriages. Some states do not even recognize civil unions. In reality civil unions began as "separate but equal" but in time have shown their true identity: "separate".

There's also an emotional attachment to the word "marriage". When I grow up I would not want to identify myself as being in a "civil union" with my wife. I would want to be married, as I am sure everyone else in the United States. According to almost every world religion (and the Defense of Marriage Act) Marriage is between one man and one woman. That's also the argument that opponents of gay marriage use. But the Constitution says that "all men are created equal". Presumably, the right to marry would come along with that "equality".

My question is this: (even if the legal protections were the same), are "civil unions" and "marriage" the same? Similar? Different? Why did you vote the way you did?

(please don't vote just based on their names and letters. We can all read and recognize that they are clearly different that way)